Playoff season for fall sports is in full swing in this state of ours. None take a greater stage than football.

There is no playoff fever in Pontiac because the Indians missed out for the second straight year. In fact, it can be said that football was down around here this season with only two of the seven teams advancing to Week 10.

It’s not like in years past when Pontiac, Prairie Central, Flanagan, Chenoa, Lexington and El Paso were regulars in the postseason. That was a mere 10-15 years ago.

Only PC and Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland made it this year. But those communities are feeling the fever of playoff football.

The folks in the Prairie Central district have to be a bit giddy because the Hawks will be home for the fist time since the 2006 semifinals against Addison Driscoll. There are two things about that year’s playoff that are interesting. One, the last game played on Lewis Field that season was won by a team form a school that is no longer in existence. The archdiocese that ran Driscoll Catholic has since closed the school’s doors.

Second, the first-round game was also at Lewis Field and was a win for the Hawks over Pontiac in what was Mick Peterson’s final game at the helm of the PTHS varsity.

Prairie Central had three home games in the 2006 playoffs. The Hawks will host Peoria Notre Dame Saturday at 6 p.m.

Although coach Brian Hassett and his staff are not looking beyond the Irish, the bracket in place has the next opponent lined up in case PC wins.

Ironically, the Hawks could be playing Notre Dame in the second round, as well. This time it will be on the road. That’s the case regardless of who the opponent is should they win.

A Prairie Central victory will send the Hawks to Macomb or to Quincy. Macomb and Quincy Notre Dame will square off Friday night in Macomb. The Bombers are the top seed in the quadrant.

QND is the eighth seed and the way things are set up, if a team traveled the first week of the playoffs, they get a home game in the second round. This is true unless both teams traveled, and then it is the higher seed that gets the home game. This is why Macomb will be hosting PC if that is the matchup.

Macomb and QND played in Week 9 with the Bombers winning 27-13 at Western Illinois University. This time the game will be played at MHS.

Page 2 of 2 - Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland hasn’t played at home since 2008, when the Falcons hosted Clifton in the second round at Woodland in Class 2A. FCW hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2008 first-round matchup with Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley.

The Falcons have since lost first-round games at Monmouth (United), Lexington and Winnetka North Shore Country Day. They will be looking to end the slump Friday at Colfax against Ridgeview.

An irony in this matchup is that they both play in the Heart of Illinois Conference but did not face each other this season. In fact, FCW and Ridgeview haven’t played since Week 2 of 2008, a game the Falcons won 42-0.

Feeling the fever for football at this time of year is much like the anticipation of the beginning of the regular season. The difference is wins and losses. A team that loses now is done until next season.